The Cape Fear Museum of History and Science is the state’s oldest history museum, having opened its doors in 1886.
The Wilmington Light Infantry (WLI) building on the second floor was the site of the original opening of the Museum, which was held in a single room on the second floor by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).
Since its inception, the Museum has relocated several times throughout the city. As recently as the late 1920s, it was situated in two rooms of the County courthouse annex until being relocated to the third floor of the Police Station building in the 1960s. It has been housed at 814 Market Street since 1970, in a building that used to be the National Guard Armory building.
Local residents rallied around a bond issue to fund upgrades to the Museum in the late 1980s. In 1992, the Museum reopened with new exhibits in a rebuilt and expanded facility, marking the institution’s 25th anniversary.
There have also been four separate groups that have been in charge of running the Museum. When World War I broke out, the UDC was forced to leave their space at the WLI, which they had been at for the previous close to 20 years. The Museum’s artifact collection was then relocated to Raleigh.
Following World War II, it took a decade for Wilmington, NC to regain the antiques, thanks to the efforts of the New Hanover County Historical Commission and the University of Delaware. Upon the return of the collection and the reopening of the Museum, a different women’s organization, North Carolina Sorosis, assumed control of the business. They were in charge of the Museum from 1930 to the early 1960s. From then on, the Museum was jointly administered by the city of Wilmington and the county of New Hanover until the county assumed sole administrative responsibility in 1977.
The extent of the Museum’s collection and its aim have expanded and contracted over time, just as the structure and its management have altered. To begin with, the organization was established in order to preserve Confederate artifacts and Confederate memories from the American Civil War.
Following the Museum’s reopening in the 1930s, a large number of new pieces were acquired, allowing the collection to encompass a broader spectrum of historical objects. Around the years, the collection has grown to include art, history, and science items from all over the world, including regional, national, and international pieces. In the late 1970s, the Cape Fear Museum’s goal was re-focused on the history, science, and cultures of the surrounding region.
Today, the Museum draws on a collection of more than 52,000 objects to assist us in exploring a wide range of topics and in telling fair and inclusive local stories, among other things.
Burgwin – Wright House
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